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Sunday, February 15, 2009

Fake East India company coins

These East India Company coins are known to be fakes. Whatever is written about the mintage or origin of the coins is just make believe stories to make things interesting. The one anna coin shown here has the same design, material and size with different dates written on it. Apart from the coins shown, I recently came across similar coins with date of 1616 and also 1939 written on it! Apparently the faker forgot the period for which the East India Company ruled India. We know that 1616 was in the Jahangir era and the East India Company did not rule India then, though it did set up trade. And in 1939, we know very well that in 1939, George VI was the emperor of India and India was very close to getting its independence. So there is no way these coins had been in circulation in the East India company era, that is established beyond doubt. The deities on these coins are worshipped, but the East India Company never had any reason to mint coins having these deities on them , and never did so.

Very soon I will be putting up the coins that were actually in circulation during the rule of the East India company, the real Mccoy.

This picture is used to show the size of a one anna coin circulated in 1818 by the East India Company. An Indian one rupee coin minted in 1988 by the Indian Government is used as a scale. This one rupee coin is slightly larger than the one rupee coin minted currently. 16 annas make one rupee, so i think that just goes to show the effect of inflation here.

Half anna , 1717

The reverse of the 1717 half anna circulated by the East India company. About Good(AG) condition. We can see a crack in the middle of the coin. This may be an error in the production of the coin.

The obverse shows hanuman, the devotee of Rama.He wields a mace and symbolizes devotion and strength. He does various feats like crossing a sea and locating sita in the enemy territory. Also, during the battle a certain herb, the sanjivani is needed for the wounded lakshamana. Hanuman goes to find it but does not know which herb is it. So he shows his strength in lifting the entire mountain, and brings the sanjivani along with the mountain.

On the right we can see "shree shree 1007" written in hindi. Rest is quite worn out so it is hard to read.

East India company one anna, 1839 - Rama

The reverse of the 1839 one anna coin used as currency by the East India Company.

The obverse of this coin shows Lord Rama in the centre, holding his bow and arrow (which was a question to Jamal Malik in the movie Slumdog Millionaire). To our right is his wife Sita, to the left is his brother Laxmana, and the one bowing is the devotee, Hanuman. Rama was a legendary king in ancient India with his capital at Ayodhya, and he was one of the avatars of Lord Vishnu, one who supports, sustains and governs the universe. The four in the above picture are the central characters in the Hindu epic Ramayana, composed by Valmiki. In the epic, Rama battles Ravana and this battle symbolizes the battle between good and evil.

East India Company one anna , 1818 - Saraswati

The obverse of this coin is showing Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, music and arts. She has been identified with the river Saraswati. The most prominent theory regarding the now extinct Saraswati river is that it was formed of the present Yamuna river, which flowed West instead of East after Paonta Sahib, and flowed roughly parallel to the Indus river. The Harappan civilization flourished between the Indus and the Saraswati. Between 2000 B.C. and 1700 B.C., seismic activity caused the waters of the river's two main sources to change course.The Sutlej moved course westward and became a tributary of the Indus River. The Yamuna moved course eastward and became a tributary of the Ganges. The tremendous loss of water which resulted from these movements caused the once mighty river to become sluggish and dry up in the Thar Desert without ever reaching the sea. Without any water for irrigation or transportation, the dense population of the river basin soon shifted east with the waters of the Yamuna to the Ganges River valley. Late Vedic texts record the river as disappearing at Vinasana (literally, "the disappearing"), and as joining both the Yamuna and Ganges as an invisible river. Some claim that the sanctity of the modern Ganges is directly related to its assumption of the holy, and supposedly life-giving waters of the ancient Saraswati.

Of late, vestiges of the great river have been found through satellite imaging.

East India Company one anna , 1818 - Shiva

East India Company 1818 one anna. The obverse of this 1818 east india company has the lord shiva on its obverse. shiva is revered as the destroyer in Hindu mythology. shiva is usually worshipped in the form of Shiva linga. In images, he is generally represented as immersed in deep meditation or dancing the Tandava, the dance of destruction. He also has a wife, Parvati, also called Uma, and two sons, Ganesh and Karthikeya.

East india company never minted coins with indian deities on them, in that era we had silver coins of william IV and queen victoria, and some copper coins had coat of arms on them, apart from the king or queen.

Kulraj singh ,s investigation reports with proofs may help the innocent to escape from RICE PULLING COINS which the scammers quote in the net millions of dollers.Thanks to Kulraj Singh for his valuable information.

no its not like that.I am only talking about East India company coins here as these fakes are very common. These fakes are so common that most collectors would never even have seen the real thing.But earlier princely states could well have minted Hindu deities as most rulers were Hindus, no sweat.That would come in the category of ancient coins and that is not my expertise

Kulraj, thanks for the eye opener essay. Recently a friend of mine told me that the East India 1818 coins made of copper irridium are worth millions. I need to know whether such coins existed, if yes then are they worth millions and why is their price so high?

There are some real coins and I will put them up when I get them. the price is 300-400 rupees to a coin(maximum, for the half anna). some particular coin having low mintage could possibly be a little costlier, but the astronomical amount you quoted is IMPOSSIBLE.

My friend told me that the coins contain irridium hence the price is so much. There are various tests like the Rice Puller test, the torch test or the watch test to confirm such coin. Have you come across any such coin?

just how costly is iridium? more costly than gold? Why exactly would a government or regime mint coins from ultra expensive materials like platinum or radium? Even gold mohurs and ashrafis of British era are valued at about 50,000 or so. Shivaji coronation mohurs have value of about 4 lacs, and that too because only about 10 are known to exist now. The Indian record for any coin would be around 4-5 lacs I think. And what makes you think some copper-iridium coin can have value more than double of that, Assuming it is a genuine coin in the first place. If you have some picture of the coin, then mail it to me.

the question of british government minting such coins did cross my mind. i don't know the cost of iridium, but have read that it is one of the rarest metals on earth and has got use for specific purposes which you can google and find out. have also heard that taking pictures of iridium coins is not possible due to the radiations that metal causes.

very convenient if someone wants to spread a rumor. how come you can mint thousands of coins with a metal thats very hard to find? Anyhow I have real East India company coins and have taken its photo as well.

hello i have an 1818 silver one rupee with king george v on the back. Also a an 1839 silver one rupee with queen victoria on the back. Are these fake! I tested them and they seem to be real silver. Why would someone fake on real silver. Also king george v was only born in 1863 i am confuzed because the coins are the same size and weight of my other silver one rupee coins from 1910. I purchased these 2 coins from street vendor in delhi in an antqiues market for 400 rupees each coin. Thank you

George v coins began to be minted in 1911, and victoria rupee in 1840.In fact there is no rupee minted in the year 1839. Both are fake. In British India many fakes are very hard to identify. It may be silver but the value of coin is more than silver metal cost. Where did you buy in Delhi? Dont buy from street vendor in CP as they are cheats. I am telling from my experience.

The British presence in India started in 1612, twelve years after the granting by Queen Elizabeth the First of a Royal Charter to the 218 Knights and merchants of the City of London who formed a company which received different names but remained in history as "the" East India Company. Although it made little impression on the Dutch control of the spice trade and could not establish a lasting outpost in the East Indies in the early years, it succeeded beyond measure in finally controlling the whole sub-continent... After the Great Mutiny in 1858, the British Government took direct control of its Indian possessions until they regained their independence in 1947, divided between India and Pakistan.

Gayatri Jat said.....Hello sir I have one coin of East India Company which is from 1835 Half Anna, & Same all symbol as u printed above, i didn't purchase bt its my grandpa saved & i got it nw.1 coin which one side printed with picture -CARLOS I REI DE PORTUGAL - MCMI & other side some simbol & written is -INDIA PORTUGUEZA-1/2 TANGA there is no any year printed. And 3rd is same name and picture with 1892 & 20 REIS. 4 th coin Gandhi's picture 1869-1948, 20 paisa.can u tell me what are the cost of these coins ? and are they really real or not ? pls reply me soon

East India company coin would be fake. 1/2 tanga should be worth at least 300, if not more. I am not an expert in that domain. gandhi 20 paisa is like 10rupees. No idea abt 20 reis, can you mail me pictures of all the coins? Perhaps I can tell you more then.

I still have to hear that from a RELIABLE source. And why do you post as anonymous?If there are some genuine East india company coins like these ones, I have still to come across them. I am only giving my opinion when I say these coins are fake(what are blogs for, anyway?) But I am categorical in my statement that no such coin would be worth lakhs or thousands of rupees, rice puller or iridium or whatever.

There is no confirmation for the same. The coins of that era mostly had urdu writings on them, or "BOMB" for coins of Bombay presidency. There was a pagoda on coins of Madras presidency, but "EAST INDIA COMPANY" was not written on any coin, neither was picture of any Hindu deity there on any coin. No good book lists such a coin as an authentic item.

Came across this site a little too late, just bought three of the kind of coin you describe, fortunately very cheaply. I doubt if the dealer knew any better than I did. Well, I know now. Your descriptions are very helpful. Is there any evidence when and by whom these fakes were produced?

This is a racket just like the production of fake currency notes. Fakes keep getting produced. even mints reproduce some original coins (which are not produced anymore) in illegal way, though no one can question the authenticity of those coins as they are produced from the original dies. If you ask about these coins in particular, I have no idea who produced them.

Have you ever heard of an East India Company 1818 with UKL One Anna one one and a picture of a man and woman who looks to be in full dress with crowns. Also the coin was described as a "Krishna Leela". Thank you.

HI can u plz let me know about this coin with picture and name of (GEORGIVS VID:G:BR:OMN:REXETINDIAE IMP) and other side (lion on the top of dragon like creature)with year 1939 to 1945.as there is no numeric value on the coin, wat was it used for my mail id (madhu_madhu753@yahoo.com)thanks

hi,i have 5 coins. Can you tell me if these are real and what would be the cost.1. hanuman coin. one side hunuman carrying mountain and in outer border written HALF ANNA U.K.1818.EAST INDYA CO. other side RAM.LAKSHMAN,SITAJI and HANUMANJI.

2.ONE RUPPE SILVER COIN 1944, GEORGEVI KING EMPEROR

3.HALF ANNA 1835with other side 2 loins

4.50 paise JAWARLAL NEHRU 1886-1964

5 ELIZABETH II.D.C REG.F.D 2002, OTHER SIDE WRITTEN ONE POUND WITH 3 LOINS

i would prefer to have a look at the pictures before telling, but hanuman coin is fake. rest seem to be ok. george vi value is 250rs. half anna value is 150-300rs if its genuine. jawaharlal nehru 50 paise: 5-10rs. One pound value=70rs

Half anna , 1717 The reverse of the 1717 half anna circulated by the East India company. About Good(AG) condition. We can see a crack in the middle of the coin. This may be an error in the production of the coin -

ONE DAY I MET ONE OLD MAN OUT SIDE THE TEMPLEHE WAS HUNGRY N THR IS SHINE ON HIS FACE HE WANTED TO SALE HANUMANJI COIN N HE WAS VRY OLD.I SAW THE COIN N FEEL THIS IS NOT ORDINARY PERSON HE SHOW ME 4 TO 5 COINS I BOUGHT 1 COIN FIRST BT AFTER THT I BOUGHT 2 MORE.TOTAL 3 COINS I BOUGHT ORIGINAL VINTAGE MADE IN SINCE1818.I HAVE 3 COIN WD HANUMANJIS PHOTO.JAY SHREE RAM

I WANT 1839,1818,1835 EAST INDIA COMPANY COIN WHICH IS ATTRACT RICE AND IT IS ALSO TESTED ON UJALLA. IN WHICH INDIA IS WORTE ON THE TOP AND IT"S WEIGHT IS APPROX 12 G to 22 G.IF ANY OF HAVE THESE COIN PLEASE CONT. ME ON MY MOB. NO. 08877288528

Hi, Mr. Singh I don't think anyone will make fake coins to sell with low price as compared to the metal and the machine they use. May be there is a hidden history about the coin or which was never written. well the East India Company coins ( Hanuman ) would be real because that coin mostly finds in the hand of the people from the northeastern part of India which where under Bangal. Oh! Tennant discovered iridium in 1803, So there are chances of mixture of iridium in some coins probably they were not aware of the new discovery. however you blog helped a lot to think about those coins. thank you.

Your article is no doubt very helpful and informative but if such a coin(like a one anna 1818 coin,on one side written "East India Company, UKL ONE ANNA, 1818" and on the other side there is a picture of Laxman, Ram, Sita and Hanuman bowing to Ram)found from nearly 10 ft beneath the ground while digging then can it be termed as fake?.......If its fake then how does it come to that place?.......

Maybe that coin was made some 50 or 100 years, and not in 1818. Maybe someone threw it away as it is worthless, and you or someother found it deep in the earth. People have conducted extensive research on these things and they have not listed these as being authentic. If you still have a doubt, you can do a carbon dating test. That should settle it once and for all.

Though archaeologists could not directly use radiocarbon dating on objects such as coins, they could often find organic material (like charcoal from a fire) on the same stratum at a site as the object. In this way the age of the coin, or any other non-organic item, might be inferred from the age of the charcoal. I hope you need to carbon date the pot or the things in which the coins were found but it could be the pots age not the coins age. So if the pot is 100 years old then the coin might be 50 or 100 more years old because the person treasured the coin as it was old. thats what Archaeologist do. @Sonam and singh

@ above: fake@nukshi: If u still believe these are genuine, go ahead and waste your money. I have given my opinion and whether you follow it or not, that is upto u. why not find some other expert on coins and take his opinion. Always better to have a second opinion when you are in doubt. but please consult someone who has a genuine collection or researcher and not some hocus pocus tantrik or illiterate temple side pavement seller. If you buy from a pavement seller, its most probably fake.

I never said in that sense. But you see, some people have done some extensive research and released some books on coins, which is very comprehensive and lists all coins of that period. Any such ram Sita or Hanuman coin is not listed in that, and that is enough to conclude that these are fakes. In fact, these are perhaps the most well known fakes in India, some other fakes I am posting now are not known that well. And then, I have also given the link to the genuine coins at the top of this page. It is well established that these are fakes.

differs with the coin, and i would need to see the pictures.This sort of thing requires experience. check my post on republic india fakes. Also i would put up a post on british india fakes. hope that would be helpful.

Lebbo is an acronym or abbreviation of the scientific term " Light Emitting Bionic Bi-Polar Orb" named for a phenomena following an experiment carried out by Wernher von Braun between 1942 and 1944 in Germany using an oval coin-like copper material that was believed to be an undying and perennial power-source for V2 rockets. This coin, smuggled out from British India, was believed to have been lost in the Allied Berlin bombings of 1945. The first information of the existence of these coins came out in the late 1970s from South America where former Nazi officers were in hiding. While the rest of the world ignored it, the news of the Lebbo coins gained momentum in India and neighbouring countries. It is believed that eight pairs of such coins were created for some purpose in the year 1616. The search for the fabled coins began first in Pakistan and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), but the focus of many hunters and researchers are now South India. Almost immediately following the news of these coins spread in India, several fakes were being manufactured and traded in many cities by unscrupulous elements.

This is a very good thread. Great information is getting collated in the form of comments too. 1 question, I have a 1901 (Calcuta Minted) silver rupee of King Edward; given that King Edward coins were minted only from 1903, is there a chance that this coin is an exception?

@ Neeraj: the catalog lists Edward one rupee to be minted from 1903, so I would say its a fake. you can also go through the post on Malaysian Sen as an example where there is good information in the comments.@ the one above Neeraj: I read about the lebbo coins, its all crap.

sir, i have 3 coins which have picture of hnuman gee on the back side and on front side 2 people are sitting under a umbrella type and 2 persons are standing on both the sides i found these coins when my old parental house in village was broken down please do comment my email id is nagra0017@yahoo.com

The Link you gave IS HIMSELF A " LUKHA " DEALER Becouse you go to this link http://www.coinnetwork.com/profiles/blogs/the-fake-coins-of-india and read it CAREFULLY it's funny - Man on the Site Balakrushna Kar trieng to degrade other seller's and want to advertise and sell his own coins that's what he had used Double Policy BY SAYING - As I am not in possession of any of the fakes, all the pictures presented are collected from internet and " I apologize for using those without the permission of the advertisers " - Quite Funny Idiot, Kulraj Sigh Site is to share the knowledge - note for selling your own coins.

The Link you gave IS HIMSELF A " LUKHA " DEALER Because you go to this link

http://www.coinnetwork.com/profiles/blogs/the-fake-coins-of-india

and Please read it CAREFULLY it's funny - Man on the Site Balakrushna Kar trieng to degrade other seller's and want to advertise and sell his own coins that's what he had used Double Policy BY SAYING - As I am not in possession of any of the fakes, all the pictures presented are collected from internet and " I apologize for using those without the permission of the advertisers " - Quite a Funny Idiot, Kulraj Sigh Site is to share the knowledge - note for selling your own coins.

undoubtedly its a fake. victoria died in 1901, then how can someone make the coin in 1940? Just some basic research can save you from being cheated.@ Neeraj: no doubt many of the anonymous comments are unreliable, but sometimes they also provide some good and interesting information.

can be real, then again this is only half the information. Even with all the correct details, it can still be a forgery. Some expert can give you confirmation. No one can be certain without looking at it.

I Don't Think your opinion is Right, Please Read the information given about Lebbo and other rare coins by some expert people's under Anonymous comments maybe people don't want to expose themselves but only want to share exact and correct information and it is the right of such people's.

One Opinion, please do not sell your own coins by putting details of your coins or by giving links on this site i agree with comment given by some Anonymous about selling own coins on this site, this site is to share information not to advertise and sell your own items..

Gents significant time has been spend on discussing ahead of this blog on 1818 , with images of gods on the other side, Kinnaur state, Rice puller etc etc .. fakes for certain however ironically for a different view, get a hold of the Krause Catalog of World Unusual Coins, all of these coints are listed there at Astronomic prices, wonder who we can trust now days....no wonder a lot of international buyers are picking these up on EBAY at fancy prices..Keep up the good work on the blog Kulraj

Most of these fake coins are listed in Krause's World's Unusual Token's book. There is not much information there but I think that should settle the discussion that these are tokens and not coins. The most optimistic thought could be that these were temple tokens. Otherwise it's as simple as that somebody just faked them to rake some money. Why it's so diffciult for most of the people here to consider the possibility that these coins could be fakes. Look at the amount of fakes around, starting from ancient coins, British silver coins and now even Indian commomoratives coins. Making fakes is not difficult.And if they are not, let's hear more authentic information about them. None of the most authentic British India collectors seem to know about it. So in case you know more information, please share. Till then, I feel we can safely assume that they are fake coins or at most they are temple tokens.

Hi Mr Kuldeep, I have a 1839 east india company coin sach boo pura tolo, one monkey weighing something with 2 other monkeyts on either side.

I dont beleive these are fakes, they look so ancient.Somehow I dont like the logic of these being fake just because they have indian deities on them. There must be some other wat to check if they are real or fake.I also have 1908,1917,1947,1927,1951,1963 coins - can you tell me how much price would each be.

I recently went through a coin collection belonging to a family member - it has a coin which says 1808 East India company and xx cash. I looked it up on another blog, and it mentions the shipwreck of Admiral Gardner where x and xx cash coins were being brought to the Madras Presidency. This coin is pretty smooth and worn, how can I tell whether a. the shipwreck story is accurate and b. whether this might have been found in the shipwreck and sold later. and c. how can i find out its worth? thanks. N, Delhi

No idea about the story but If I see the picture I can get an idea. We are not concerned about where the coin has been through its existence, only when and where did it originate? such stories are often misleading and told just to fool some gullible person.

Hi, came across this on the web http://currency.s5.com/coins.htmlthanks to your blog, I found out that the ones with Hindu deities on them are fakes. Could you please advice if the rest are fake too? Thank you!

hi kulraj, just came across this blog, i happened to come across a so called eic copper coin of 1717 depicting ram, lakshman, seetha @ hanuman with the words ramrajya written in hindi, is it a genuine one, if not are they temple tokens issued by eic, have u got any info.

hi kulraj, i checked out the list of real eic coins,i've 2 1835 one quarter anna of eic of the same make. today i happened to get hold of another eic 1833 quarter anna with the emblem & 1833 and quarter anna, the picture of a weighing machine and something written in urudu. it also has the islam year, is it a genuine piece.

Yaar kulraj, wish i had seen your site before today cos after going thru your site am feeling like a jackass. Just today someone sold me these 1818 east india company coins and i never knew such a scam ever existed.

I was all excited after getting these coins and surfed the net to find out its value when i came across your website and now am really disappointed :( i have been duped but have learnt something new. anyways keep posting and try to reach out to everyone and create the awareness. Goodwork.

However, -the last straw - can you please suggest anywhere in kolkatta where i can get these coins verified by an expert- wouldbe willing to pay his professional fees too.

"East India Company issued a Ganesha coin in 1839The British East India Company in 1839 issued a copper ½ Anna coin measuring 32mm with reeded edge and weighing 12.81 grams. The coin carried the Ganesha image on the obverse."

hi,today i got 2 east india company coin from my frnd...its manufacture date both are 1835..one is half anna and d other is 1/12..bhind d coin two lions on either side is holding d british flag...is dis coin original or fake????

its not fake mr.kulraj...i have two coin of east India company year 1818... mai bo coin dekhte aaraha hu,when i was just seven years old...my father show me that...now i'm 25 years old...i;m asking my father where from he get the coins...he told me that my grandfather giving him that...now my question is that how is it possible in those days to make a duplicate coin...?do you know the real price of those coin..?

All the East India Company Coins depicting Hindu Deities are not exactly fake... They are actually ceremonial coins minted based on the coins in circulation at that period and not created to use as a fake just for tokens during festivals like Deepawali. Although the same moulds would have been used for a longer period so exact dates can not be ascertained. It i quite clear by comparing the obverse and reverse of the coins. 1. Design techniques are strikingly different. 2. Different languages used. 3. Coarse design on obverse while finer artwork on reverse :-)

Kulraj singhYou are great but u have not the right to just say that all hindu deities are fake. Sometimes at the time of East India Company some local destiny with the permission of East India Company made Hindu deities coins which at that time are very popular.Thank you Jai Hanuman

I just bought 2 british india 1 rupee silver coins on ebay.. Victoria Queen 1840. The coins are slightly thinner than the edward or george coins and have damafe / dirt marks but the rest of the coin looks in good condition.

Do you think these are fakes? I wish to increase my british India silver coin collection, Could you give me some tips so that i could avoid landing up holding fakes,

Hello,Interesting post. I have a few different of these fake "East India Company" coins. Though I realize they are fake, I am interested to know how these got made. Mine, unlike yours, are very dirty and worn looking (looking much more "realistically" old) BUT I got these coins in rural Bihar... actually Bodh Gaya. I didn't know if they were real or not, but they seemed cool looking regardless and very cheap.

All mine have different deities, like Shiv, Saraswati, Hanuman... I see that the reverse is apparently a copy of the East India coins, but I am curious if the deity sides are a copy of anything you know? I read (though I know very little about these) that there were "temple coins" often made (not real currency) but used at different times in temples for offerings (I think?). Wondering if they are copies of those perhaps?

Lastly, mixed in with these coins I found one other unique looking different coin... it says "Raja Saam Salvati.. (something) in Hindi on it. The other side has seated people under some kind of umbrellas. It is probably fake as well (or a temple coin?) but even so a bit interesting none-the-less.

Many temple coins were made 100-200 years back on these themes, which can still be found. But the ones shown above are modern minted coins by fakers. Finding both these types(temple tokens or fakes) is possible.

i have got 1008 year old coin with me of hanuman can u tell me what is the exat value of it i want to sell it as soon as possibleyou can send me your answer in my email id samigady@gmail.com please reply it fast la

What would be the symbol in a genuine East India Company quarter Anna Coin of 1836, say? Would it have one lion or would it have the two lions and the flag with the legend on it? How would we identify a genuine coin? Would they have a mint mark?

i have UKL 1818 one anna east india coin with three human figures on the other side. Let me know if you want it 718 674 4820 . actually my roommate has it his name is bani dey call him. my name is frederick dsouza.

All these coins of east India company, that is 1717,1616 &1818 are fake coins and also the other coins with Hindu deities, what ever you have discussed with Hindu deities are fake coins.During east India company's days all the coins or almost all the coins they issued were well documented in the companies official documents. More over there were auction companies like Spinks(since 16666, http://www.spink.com/home_page/index.asp) which has documented most of the coins for auctioning them to collectors as early as 1666 and have got extensive documentation on east India company coins. If you want to know more on these there are publications like KRAUSE, were they issue books periodically listing almost all world coins. To know more about coins and collections join some online group or try to find your nearest coin clubs. Were you would find enough information on all these. There were no iridium used in any kind of coinage during colonial times.

The iridium story,

Read the history of iridium.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium

Then if you still believe that some portion of iridium can still stick to these coins as iridium came as a by product of copper and nickel mining then google to find the basic ores from where East India Company took copper to mint their coins, go to the nearest coin store and buy few EAST INDIA COMPANY COPPER COINS you could get the cheapest one for 100 rupees each, especially the 1/12 anna and conduct your test.

There is no Indian coin which has sold for more than 10 lac rupees. Coins worth more then a lac are worth so , due to the rarity (and collectors are buying for such high price not metal dealers) and not because of iridium.

IRIDIUM STORY IS NOT TRUE DON'T BELIEVE IN ALL THESE AND WASTE YOUR MONEY AND TIME.

Hi, i bought a 1616 one rupee coin. The observe is different than any other 1616 one rupee coin i could find a picture of on the internet.The observe look like a garden with 3 people in it. Can you tell me what it is exactly? Thanks

I have been looking for a George VI 1939 1 Rupee silver coin. Found one on eBay, but I had having some apprehension regarding the authenticity of this coin. The intricate design on the reverse side (the "U" in Rupee, the letters written in urdu, etc.), and the rim/periphery design on the obverse side, was not matching with the picture of KG VI 1939 Rupee 1, printed in some books.

It appeared to be a fake, later it got sold in the auction for Rs 25800/-... whew !! Pls check it out, and give in your expert comments :

I am not able to tell if this is fake or not, but when dealers are ready to buy this 1.5lc, why sell on ebay for such a low price? Thats definitely questionable. and ebay as a source is known to be questionable and unreliable.

hey kulraj i have old east india company coin(1818) one side rama sitha and lakshman and hanuman and other side was east india company print in english and urdhu it was half anna can u tell me what is the right price of the coin please contact me on mail ramarao197196@yahoo.com

Sir I have some one rupee silver coins inherit from my grand like as 1828, 1877,1878,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1912,1914,1916,1918,1919,1920, 1942, Among them the coin 1828 felt me confused is the coin genuine ? I can mail you photocopy of that coin .My E-mail id is anuj.aimani@gmail.com

Sorry, I did not finish my sixth point on my previous comment.There were no 2-Annas minted during 1835 (Willam-4th) in India by the English East India Company (although, there was a half anna in copper). There was also 4 annas (1/4th Rup) in silver and higher denomination including 30 Rup (2-ashrafi / double mohur). Again, feel free to check any catalog and then tell me if I am wrong.

Your comments "no such coin... not given in any book.....any knowledgeable person wont say such thing exists..." are just based on YOUR KNOWLEDGE.

So let me educate you.

The coin I mentioned you is:1. In fact a British East India Coin.2. It is a Madras Presidency "Pagoda" coin. There sre several in this series. 1/2, 1/4 Pagoda in silver, & 1 and 2 Pagoda in gold. 3. They all have a Hindu God "Vishnu" on obverse and a temple "gopuram style" in reverse.4. These were minted in early 1800's AD(~1807-1815). 5. You can refer to ANY decent catalog (Krause / Pridmore) and then tell me that I am wrong. The eaxct numbers minted call also be found, or if you are interested, I can tell you. You can even find them mentioned in cheaper but decent Indian catalog of Indian coins (PL Gupta). OR just simply google "Madras Pagoda coins" and read about those coins.

British Indian numismatics (or any other periods for that matter) is a serious study, as there are so many different types, specially of the 3 presidencies under English East india company. Although, I do agree with you whole heartedly that the copper "hanuman, shiva, durga, etc. etc." are all poor and cheap fakes, and I do admire your educating others about these cheap forgeries and prevent getting ripped-off.Like you say in your profile "You are the BEST at what you do"..... Keep up the good work, and please do not stop learning yourself!